The Wierd of Calliope
by Calliope Knight of Mistique
Summary: I began writing this before HP5 was released, and so contains no spoilers. Based on my theories of what was going to happen. Features Oliver Wood returning to Hogwarts, a new love interest for Harry and a sinister plot, dum dum DUM!
1. Default Chapter

Privet Drive was quiet, but there was a tense atmosphere drifting over the immaculate lawns, neatly trimmed hedges and clean pavement. It was as though the street itself expected something strange to happen sometime soon. This was hardly surprising since strange events usually happened there around that time of the year. It was the end of August. September was drawing near, and the tension of the street was nothing compared to the mood inside house Number 4.  
  
In the smallest bedroom, a tall but skinny boy with untidy dark hair named Harry Potter lay in a state between sleep and wakefulness. Jumbled thoughts chased each other around Harry Potter's mind. The most predominant of these were angry, regarding an argument that had taken place a few hours ago between Harry and his uncle, Vernon Dursley. Just as Harry slipped into sleep, the cause of the argument flew over the street, landed on Harry's bedroom window and tapped gently on the glass. Harry awoke with a jump and leapt silently to the window. There on the sill sat a beautiful red and gold bird, the size of a swan, with a letter grasped in one large and glittering talon. Harry slid the window open noiselessly and Fawkes, a Phoenix fluttered inside.  
  
A stab of sadness hit Harry hard as he remembered his owl, Hedwig. Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had sent Hedwig to Harry a month before, but for some reason she never completed the journey. She had completely disappeared. Professor Dumbledore had then given Fawkes to Harry, feeling guilty for Harry's loss. He had claimed that since being made the Minister of Magic, he no longer had the time for a pet.  
  
The arrival of Fawkes brought both great sadness and joy to Harry. Although he missed Hedwig a great deal, something about Fawkes always made Harry feel as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Unfortunately, Fawkes had a completely different effect on the Dursleys. The Dursleys did their best to hide everything magical about Harry. They had just become used to sharing their home with an owl when Harry had introduced them to Fawkes. Since then, many fights had broken out over the Phoenix. As such, Harry was glad to be going back to school soon.  
  
As Harry stroked Fawkes, who had by now settled in his lap to give him the letter, he found that his anger evaporated. Feeling calmer, he turned his attention to the letter, which was from Hogwarts informing him of the books he would need for his sixth year at the magical school.  
  
Harry paused for a moment and considered his options. He could ask Uncle Vernon to give him a ride into London to do his school shopping, or he could make his own way there. His decision took little internal debate, and he quickly packed his things into his trunk. He opened the window once more and Fawkes, seeming to read his mind, flew out and soared into the night. Harry grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a note to the Dursleys, telling them that he had left for school. He made sure to use his special ink, which flashed every colour of the rainbow, just to annoy the Dursleys and their hatred of magic. Leaving the note on his bed, he carried his trunk downstairs to the living room and pulled a handful of Floo Powder from a small pouch he carried with him at all times. These days, he was never sure when he would have to travel by fire.  
  
Harry threw the glittering powder into the fire, and as he did so, he called out "The Leaky Cauldron," ensuring he was just loud enough to wake the Dursleys. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the fire. The flames danced wildly for a moment and then died out revealing an empty fireplace.  
  
The dim light of the Leaky Cauldron temporarily blinded Harry after the bright fire he had just stepped out of. He clambered out of the fireplace and glanced around the inn. The familiar sight of Witches and Wizards dressed in sweeping robes of varying colours brought a smile to his lips, and he felt more at home in that moment than he had done all summer at his Uncle's house. Amid the whispers, stares and pointed fingers at his forehead that followed him everywhere, he crossed the room to the bar and booked a room.  
  
The bartender took Harry's trunk up to his room while Harry wandered out of the pub and into Diagon Alley. Pulling his book list from his pocket, he headed straight for Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop. As suddenly as he had become cheerful, he felt his mood drop like a stone. Being back in the Wizarding world seemed to bring back the feelings of the troubled times with twice their usual strength. With Voldemort returned to full power, many Wizards were finding it more difficult to be happy, when every day, news of more killings and disappearances were announced. It had only been a few months since Voldemort had regained his powers, and yet already everyone was worried about where the Dark Mark, which was the symbol of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, would appear next.  
  
Voldemort's return to power had distressed many people. Others however, had refused to believe it was possible for a while. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic at the time was one of these people. He had been fired once the public had realized that Voldemort was truly back, and Dumbledore had finally been encouraged to take up the role. Although people generally felt safer with Dumbledore in charge, there were still concerns about the amount of killings and the reported disappearances. Witches and Wizards everywhere were beginning to sink into depression and fear for their safety.  
  
A sign of the feeling of desperation was the fact that many members of the non magical community (Muggles) were now aware of the Wizarding world, and had agreed to work along side Wizards to save as many innocent lives as possible.  
  
As Harry paid for his books the shopkeeper smiled at him, but Harry knew that the smile was not heartfelt. He noticed the same with most wizards these days. They would smile on the outside, but you could always tell that their hearts were despondent. Harry returned the shopkeeper's smile but he was confident that his smile was also lacking.  
  
Harry left the store and continued his shopping, buying new school robes at Madame Malkin's, refills for his potions kit, and treating himself to a new pair of flying gloves alongside a bottle of broomstick handle polish from Quality Quidditch Supplies. He had been made the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain at the end of last year, and decided he and his broom deserved a treat.  
  
Once he had finished his shopping he was curious about the variety of magical items but his interest was half-hearted. Harry meandered back up the crooked street to the Leaky Cauldron. The instant that he entered his room Fawkes flew in through the open window. Harry had in fact, just been thinking about sending a letter to his best friend, Ron Weasley, to ask him if he could travel to Platform 9 ¾ with the Ron's family. It was eerie how Fawkes seemed to be able to read his mind. He always seemed to know knew when Harry wanted to send a letter, turning up at exactly the right moment. Harry knew that Phoenixes were not really mail birds, but Fawkes seemed determined that Harry used him instead of an owl, by snatching letter from the owls whenever Harry tried to use them.  
  
Harry had put quill to parchment, and had only succeeded in writing Dear Ron. when he heard footsteps thundering up the hallway and Ron himself burst through the door, grinning triumphantly. Ron's red hair was longer and he had grown a few inches taller.  
  
"Harry!" cried Ron. "I was just going to send you an owl when the bartender told me that you had checked in!"  
  
"Hello Ron," said Harry, smiling to see his best friend again. "I was just going to send you a letter too."  
  
"Freaky," said Ron, faking a serious look to cover a grin. "You know Harry, I think we spend too much time together!" The two boys laughed.  
  
Then, traveling at a great speed, another person arrived at Harry's door. Harry saw a blur of bushy hair, which he recognized to belong to his other best friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione shrieked and flung herself upon him. She hugged Harry tightly, but suddenly drew herself away smiling, and Harry was slightly surprised when he noticed that she was blushing. Hermione, determined to regain control over her emotions, then turned to Ron and waved.  
  
"Hi you two," Hermione giggled nervously. "How was your summer?"  
  
Harry was somewhat perplexed by Hermione's uncharacteristic behaviour, but soon forgot it as the three friends began chatting about their summer. After that it was just like old times. Harry accompanied Ron and Hermione as they did their school shopping, the three of them chatting happily. That night, Harry and Hermione ate dinner with the Weasley family in the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Weasley, Ron's father happily fed his love of anything to do with Muggles by pestered Harry and Hermione for details regarding their lives with Muggles. During the course of the meal he interrogated them about the uses of items such as television remote controls, radiators and watering cans. Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, fussed over Harry as usual. She asked him again and again if he had had enough to eat, if he was warm enough, if he was tired, and perhaps he should head up to bed early since he had a long day ahead of him. Ginny, Ron's little sister who had been in love with Harry since she had first met him, was very quiet and blushed fire-engine red whenever Harry spoke to her.  
  
The next morning the entire Weasley family and Harry and Hermione caught taxis to take them to Kings Cross Station. Once inside the station, Harry, Ron and Hermione approached the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Harry began to feel a little nervous. He had passed through the barrier successfully many times before, but he had never forgotten the time in his second year at Hogwarts when the barrier had refused to let him pass. He stared apprehensively at it, and the solid brick wall stared back. Despite knowing better, Harry imagined the wall was mocking him.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes, crossed his fingers and ran straight at the barrier. When he opened his eyes, he was pleased to see the scarlet steam engine, which would take him to Hogwarts, at the platform in front of him. He turned around to see Ron and Hermione tumble out of the barrier behind him, and the three of them hurried to their favorite compartment on the train.  
  
They rushed to the window to wave goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the train gathered speed. It moved away from the platform as they heaved their heavy luggage into the overhead racks. Everything seemed to be completely normal. The train ride was exactly the same as it always was, excluding the odd lack of Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival, and his taunts. Harry anticipated Malfoy's tradition of his sauntering down the train with his Cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed Hell bent on taunting Harry and his friends. Harry had seen Malfoy boarding the train from a distance, but for some reason he did not appear at all during the journey. Other than that, everything had so far, seemed so completely normal.  
  
Late that evening, the train slowed and came to a stop. As Harry left the train, he began to wonder how his friends could be so cheerful and normal. This part of the journey would have previously been so happy for all of them as they were re-united with all of their friends. Harry glanced around the platform at Hogsmead, the village near to Hogwarts, where the new Games Keeper was directing the first year students to boats that would take them across the lake. Everything looked so empty without the giant figure of Hagrid, the previous Games Keeper and good friend to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry finally placed his full concentration on his friends, and discovered that they did not appear to be nearly as happy as he had initially thought. Ron wore an extremely solemn look on his face and his eyes looked dark and sorrowful. Hermione had tears streaming silently down her face. It became obvious to Harry that his friends missed Hagrid as much as he did.  
  
Putting his arm around Hermione, Harry led her and Ron to a horseless carriage, which would carry them up to the castle of Hogwarts, without another look at the lake where Hagrid should have been, but wasn't. Hagrid had been out of contact with Dumbledore for months now, ever since Hagrid and Madame Maxime, the half-giant headmistress of Beaxbatons Academy, had left to send envoys to the giants, asking for their friendship in the fight against Voldemort. Although Dumbledore had not told them of the possibility, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew that the lack of communication could only mean that Hagrid might not return.  
  
Harry felt a surge of anger towards life itself. Life was pretending that it was normal and that everything was fine, but Harry knew the truth. Things were starting to fall apart. Well it can pretend all it likes, Harry though bitterly, but it can't fool me. Nothing is the same. 


	2. Chapter 2

The Welcoming Banquet seemed to be the very product of life's pretence. Everything was almost exactly the same as Harry remembered it from the previous year, except the Sorting Hat's song had changed slightly. The terrified first years were sorted into their houses, Dumbledore gave his usual announcements about students keeping away from the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and Harry found his attention wandering. Everyone seemed so normal. For a moment, Harry wondered if he had merely imagined the events that had taken place and the end of the last school year, but then remembered Hermione's tears as they had arrived at Hogwarts. Surely he wasn't just imagining it. He had really seen Voldemort's return to power, had seen his Death Eaters answer his call so willingly after all these years, had seen Cedric Diggory murdered. Harry wanted to scream and scream until his lungs caved in, but as he was in the middle of the crowded Great Hall, he resisted the urge and settled to sigh heavily.  
  
As Dumbledore continued to speak, Harry studied his face. Dumbledore looked older and wearier than ever. Harry concluded that the heavy task of being Minister of Magic added to his duties as Headmaster, was proving to be a lot of work, even for Dumbledore. Harry snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Dumbledore mention the word "quidditch". The thought of Harry's favourite sport was often enough to cheer him up, if only for a short time. He returned his full attention to what Professor Dumbledore was saying.  
  
"I am pleased to announce that there will be a student teacher joining the staff this year!" said Dumbledore, beaming around at the sea of students before him. "Perhaps Gryffindor's most competitive captain, Oliver Wood has returned to Hogwarts and will be assisting Madam Hooch this year as a coach in training!"  
  
There were loud cheers and applauding, mainly from the Gryffindor table as their former quidditch captain waved to them from the staff table. Dumbledore continued with his announcements as Harry stared in amazement at the tall figure of Oliver Wood, sitting cheerfully between Madam Hooch and Professor Sprout. Just a year ago, Oliver had excitedly told Harry that he had been signed to the Puddlemere United reserve team. He had seemed so happy about it. So why now did he suddenly want to become a coach? Harry was puzzled, and made up his mind to question Oliver about it at the first chance he got.  
  
Harry looked around at his friends sitting at the Gryffindor House table, measuring their reactions to this news, but was suddenly distracted by something that was most definitely not normal. A girl was sitting a short way down the table from him, talking to Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patil and smiling comfortably. It was clear that this girl was not a first year student, in fact she looked about Harry's age, but she was definitely new to Hogwarts. Harry could not remember anyone transferring to Hogwarts after the first year. Harry stared at the girl, and noticed that he had a peculiar feeling in his stomach. He remembered the feeling. It was the same one he had felt every time he looked at Cho Chang, the girl he had had a crush on since his third year.  
  
Harry was so busy looking at this new girl that he completely missed the rest of Dumbledore's announcements, in which he introduced the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and informed the school that Professor Snape would be taking up the role as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, in addition to his duties as the Potions master. Hermione and Ron failed to miss this bit of information, however, and groaned in miserable apprehension. Professor Snape was their least favourite teacher at Hogwarts, and he possessed a poisonous dislike for Harry and his friends.  
  
But Harry was still staring at the newcomer, watching her long, blonde curls move as she laughed at a joke. He was completely oblivious to anything else going on around him. He wished he was sitting next to her, laughing with her. And then, to Harry's shock, she turned her head towards him and smiled an open, friendly smile. Harry noticed her even, white teeth. He returned the smile, and knew that this smile was completely authentic. His heart was fluttering somewhere around his throat. Then all of a sudden, she turned away from him, and continued her conversation.  
  
Harry jumped when Ron tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey," said Ron, looking at Harry with a look of concern on his face. "What's up? You aren't eating mate."  
  
Harry, realizing he must have looked frightfully silly grinning down the table, looked don at his plate and saw that the magnificent feast had magically appeared. Feeling ravenous, he piled his plate high and answered Ron.  
  
"Sorry," he said. "I just spaced out a bit. Tired I guess." He shoved a forkful of mashed potato into his mouth to show Ron that he was all right. Ron did not look too convinced, but sighed and returned to his conversation about quidditch with Dean Thomas, a fellow fifth year Gryffindor student.  
  
Harry continued eating, but paid little attention to the talk around him. He stared down the table at the girl for the entire duration of the meal. By the time he left the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione an hour later, he had memorized every detail of the girl's face; the gentle curl of her blonde hair, her bright green eyes, pale skin and her cheerful mouth. He was still envisioning her face, all other thoughts driven from his mind, when he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, which served as the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. He blinked and looked around in surprise, feeling disorientated. He hadn't even remembered climbing any stairs.  
  
To Harry's relief, Ron and Hermione did not notice Harry's double-take, as they were too busy talking in worried voices. It was only when Hermione spoke the password ("Iced Pumpkin Juice") that Harry realized that they were talking about Professor Snape's new position in the school.  
  
"I can't believe that Snape is going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year!" exclaimed Hermione.  
  
Harry's head snapped towards her. "What do you mean?" he asked, panicked.  
  
"Honestly Harry, weren't you paying attention to Dumbledore's announcements?" said Hermione, clearly exasperated, and climbed through the portrait hole into the common room. Harry followed her, shook his head and grinned sheepishly. Hermione rolled her eyes and broke the bad news to Harry. Harry responded by throwing himself in to an armchair by the fire and screaming into a pillow.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me!" he cried, causing a few first year students to jump and huddle in a group to gossip about the "famous Harry Potter" and his temper tantrum. "He's going to be evil to us," he continued.  
  
Ron was silent, but looked as though he had been hit repeatedly over the head. He moaned and sank into the chair next to Harry's. Hermione shook her head and joined them. The three friends sat by the fire together for a time and discussed their impending doom. Ron speculated that perhaps Snape would turn out to be the bad guy after all this year, as more often than not the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had been a servant of Voldemort. Hermione replied to this with her usual roll of the eyes and protest that if Dumbledore trusted Snape then so should they. The two were soon immersed in their usual argument of the subject, and Harry slipped quietly out of the conversation and wandered up to his dormitory, where he changed into more casual clothes, favouring comfort.  
  
As he re-entered the common room, he found that Ron and Hermione had ended their squabble in favour of talking to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan about the return of Oliver Wood. Harry would have liked to join in their conversation, but he was once more distracted from the subject of their new Quidditch coach by the new girl. Harry saw her sitting by the window, still talking to Lavender and Parvati. Before he realized what he was doing, he was walking over to the group and introducing himself to her.  
  
"Hi," he said, without really willing himself to.  
  
"Hello," replied the girl, with a neutral expression on her pretty face. "I'm Harry Potter," Harry said, and braced himself for the usual reaction of amazement, awe, and other such emotions that usually greeted him. The newcomer, however, continued expressing no emotions, and looked Harry straight in the eyes.  
  
"I'm Calliope Knight," she replied. "My friends call me Callie."  
  
"Um, nice to meet you Callie," Harry said, and suddenly became aware of himself. He was talking to an attractive girl that caused his stomach to perform flip-flops. He froze and felt his face flush as he lost the connection between his brain and his mouth. Callie appeared not to notice. Lavender and Parvarti, however, giggled.  
  
Harry, eager to cover the awkward pause, blurted out the first thing he could think of to say. "You're new here," he said, suppressing a wince as he mentally called himself an inarticulate idiot.  
  
"Yes, I just transferred here," Callie replied with the same lack of obvious emotion. "I previously attended Beauxbatons, but my family lives in England, and they wanted me to study somewhere closer to home."  
  
"Ah," replied Harry, and mentally reprimanded himself once more.  
  
Callie was looking at him with an odd, distant look in her bright green eyes, which were still focused on Harry's eyes. Her strong gaze made Harry feel very uncomfortable all of a sudden, and he mumbled something incoherent about exhaustion and escaped the common room to his dormitory. As he exited the room, he felt a strange, tingling sense that told him the Callie was watching him go. As Harry undressed and prepared for bed in his dormitory, he vaguely thought about his meetings with Veelas the previous year, and wondered if Callie could be part Veela, but all thoughts were chased from his mind when he climbed into his four poster bed. He was asleep in moments. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
The common room slowly emptied as the Gryffindors gave way to weariness, and soon Hermione and Calliope were the only two left. Hermione was reading her new Arithmancy book, feeling wide awake. She glanced up to see if the seats by the fire were empty, hoping to get a warmer seat, and saw only Calliope, gazing unblinkingly into the flames as they danced around the hearth. Hermione frowned. There's something odd about that girl, she thought to herself. She didn't know what she meant exactly, but there was certainly an aura about her that Hermione did not sense around others. Just as she thought this, Calliope tore her gaze from the ever-interesting fire and fixed her cool green stare or Hermione instead. Hermione blinked in surprise, and then shifted, feeling incredibly ill at ease. Calliope's gaze was the most intense Hermione had ever encountered. She felt as though her private thoughts were being read at will, as though they were written down in a book for all to see. But that's just silly, Hermione told herself. She couldn't be. could she?  
  
A small, amused smile played around Calliope's lips, and Hermione's eyes went wide with shock. Without hesitation, she shoved her books into her bad, slung it over her shoulder and practically ran to the portrait hole. As she closed the portrait, she glanced back into the common room. Calliope was staring at the fire again, but she called out to Hermione. "Good night!"  
  
Hermione practically slammed the portrait shut and ran off down the corridor. She didn't even have to think of the route she was taking, as she had walked it so many times before. She had some serious research to do, and the best place for that was the library. Despite her deep thoughts, she smiled with pleasure. She had been made a prefect during the summer, as indicated by the shiny new pin on her robes. She looked down at it, and smiled. She had an almost all access pass to the castle. She could spend as much time in the library as she wanted and no one would throw her out. She was even allowed to access the restricted section of books, providing that she informed the librarian, Madame Pince, beforehand.  
  
Hermione gave herself a mental pat on the back. She had always known that her hard work would pay off, ever since the first day at Hogwarts all those years ago. Harry and Ron had often laughed at her, saying that she worked to hard, or read too much. But they didn't have nearly as many privileges as she did now.  
  
Arriving at the library at last, she pushed the door open noiselessly. She put her bag down on the table and lit a lamp with her wand, and carried it among the towering bookshelves, pulling out heavy volumes of interest. When she could carry no more, she went back to the desk, sat down and began to read. And so the hours passed her by, until exhaustion eventually overcame her and she fell asleep with her head resting on her arms. 


End file.
